More than 4,500 years ago, at the origins of the Egyptian pyramid era, a man was buried inside a large ceramic vase, then sealed in a grave dug in the rock. Today, that unusual burial has led to an unprecedented result: the First complete genome Never extracted and sequencing from the human remains of ancient Egypt.
Published in the magazine Naturethis scientific goal confirms for the first time on a genetic level the cultural ties between the pharaonic Egypt and the fertile crescent, the region that includes the current Iraq, Syria and Iran. It is also the first time that the complete genetic heritage of a person who lived during the ancient kingdom is deciphered, precisely in the period in which the iconic pyramids began to rise from desert sands.
The extraordinary journey of a body between archeology, wars and genetic technology
The discovery of the remains dates back to 1902, when a group of British archaeologists brought to light, in Nuwayrat – a village along the Nile, about 260 kilometers south of Cairo – a hermetically closed tomb. Inside, scholars found the skeleton of a man, curled up and bent inside a large ceramic container. No similar burial has ever been identified in the region.
The remains were transferred to the Institute of Archeology of Liverpool, and then enter the permanent collection of the World Museum. There, they even survived the bombings of the Second World War, which destroyed almost all the other human finds preserved in the museum.
Despite everything, the real challenge came later: extract DNA from those millenary remains.
An exceptional conservation allowed the impossible
Recovering genetic material from ancient Egyptian bodies is notoriously difficult. The warm and dry climate of the country tends to quickly degrade any biological trace. The introduction of the mummification, which arrived later compared to the burial of Nuwayrat, has further complicated things, promoting the contamination and alteration of the DNA.
But in this case, the conditions were extraordinarily favorable: the body, buried in pre-mummification and protected by a ceramic vase, remained isolated from external agents and modern contaminations. This made it possible for researchers of the Francis Crick Institute and of the Liverpool John Moores Universitythe scientific miracle: sequeniation the entire genome using a dental sample. It is the oldest genome ever obtained from Egyptian remains.
Genetic analysis revealed that approximately 80% of its genetic heritage came from North African populations, while the remaining 20% He was linked to people of the Fertile crescentconfirming ancient migratory flows and cultural exchanges between Egypt and Near East.
Who was this man?
Although his name has been lost over the centuries, some clues tell a lot about his life. The man was male, probably over 60 years old, and presented clear signs of arthritis and osteoporosis. The shape of the bones, in particular those of the pelvis and the arms, indicates a repetitive work done for a long time in a sitting position, with constant movements back and forth: A typical posture of the potters.
It is no coincidence: ceramic The same was a novelty imported into Egypt precisely by those same Asian regions from which part of his DNA derived.
However, the type of burial reserved for this individual is surprising. He was placed in one Tomb dug into the rockusually intended for high -ranking people or elite members. This suggests that, although not a pharaoh, it could be a renowned craftsman or enjoy the protection of an important figure.
This discovery represents only a first step. Even if it is a single individual, his genome opens the way to A new era of genetic studies on ancient Egypt. Scholars now hope to be able to analyze other human remains preserved in museums and collections, with the aim of better understanding When and how the first Egyptian populations settledAnd how much migration from the Near East influenced.
Despite two centuries of archaeological research, the ancient Egypt continues to surprise us. And genetics, today more than ever, promises to reveal the secrets hidden in the millennia.
